Argentina officially withdraws from World Health Organization, following US

On Tuesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Pablo Quirno confirmed Argentina’s withdrawal from the international agency, which monitors health trends, tracks disease, promotes healthcare access, and trains medical providers.

The move was first announced in February last year, and a month later, Quirno explained that the government of right-wing President Javier Milei had issued a formal notice to the WHO.

“Today, Argentina’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) takes effect, marking one year since the formal notification was made by our country,” Quirno wrote in his social media post on Tuesday.

“Argentina will continue to promote international cooperation in health through bilateral agreements and regional forums, while fully preserving its sovereignty and its capacity to make decisions regarding health policies.”

Milei’s decision to pull Argentina out of the WHO echoes a similar decision made under his right-wing ally, US President Donald Trump.

Both leaders have lashed out at international organisations that they accuse of advancing progressive policies in areas such as health and medicine.

Last year’s announcement that Argentina would step back from the global health agency came roughly a month after Trump made a near-identical move.

In a statement at the time, the libertarian Milei blasted the organisation for its health advice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Measures to limit the spread of the virus, such as masking, social distancing and vaccinations, became a common target of right-wing ire in countries around the world.

In a social media post, Milei accused the WHO of being a “nefarious organization” that executed “the greatest experiment in social control in history”, referring to COVID safety measures.

The WHO, however, is largely an advisory body, and it does not dictate policies to member states.

As of Tuesday, the agency listed 194 members, including Argentina, on its website.

The US formalised its withdrawal in January for similar reasons, a decision lamented by WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“Unfortunately, the reasons cited for the US decision to withdraw from WHO are untrue,” Ghebreyesus said in a social media post at the time.

“The notification of withdrawal makes both the US and the world less safe.”